Universität Wien

030534 SE COVID-19 and International Dispute Resolution (2020W)

Cross-border Contractual and Non-contractual Claims in the Wake of the Pandemic

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 3 - Rechtswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 08.10. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum SEM42 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG (Kickoff Class)
  • Wednesday 20.01. 09:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM42 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG
  • Thursday 21.01. 12:00 - 16:00 Seminarraum SEM42 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG
  • Friday 22.01. 13:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM42 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This seminar is dedicated to legal problems raised by the COVID-19 crisis. Participants will analyse the legal instruments, rules and concepts that will govern the wave of cross-border disputes expected in the aftermath of the pandemic. They will study traditional concepts like force majeure, frustration or hardship, and discuss how these are likely to be applied to the crisis. They will also compare specifically introduced new COVID-19 legislation in different countries. Conflict-of-laws and procedural problems, such as the validity of force majeure clauses, will be debated. Besides contractual disputes, the seminar will also cover aspects of tort law arising from infection-related liability cases.

Methods:
Students will conduct independent research on a specific legal aspect of the COVID-19 crisis. They will write a paper and present it in class. Each presentation will be debated with all students participating in the Seminar.

Language:
The seminar will be conducted in English.

Assessment and permitted materials

The assessment will be based on the quality of the paper (70%), the presentation (20%) and the participation in the discussion (10%). All available materials are permitted.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Students must demonstrate their ability to do research in a new area and present their results in an understandable and interesting way. They must also show rhetorical skills in oral presentation and the ability to participate in a discussion with sound and convincing arguments.

Assessment standard:
The grades will be based on the comprehensiveness, soundness and accuracy of the student’s paper and participation in the discussion. The quality of the English language will not affect the grade except where a lack of language skills leads to an incomprehensible paper.

Examination topics

The assessment will be based on the quality of the paper (70%), the presentation (20%) and the participation in the discussion (10%). All available materials are permitted.

Reading list

Reading list:
Matthew Jennejohn, Julian Nyarko & Eric L. Talley, “COVID-19 as a Force Majeure”, in: Corporate, Transactions, Law in the Time of COVID-19, Katharina Pistor, ed., Columbia Law School (2020), available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2645
Klaus Peter Berger & Daniel Behn, “Force Majeure and Hardship in the Age of Corona: A Historical and Comparative Study“, 6 No 4 McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution (2019-20)
Christian Twigg-Flessner, “A Comparative Perspective on Commercial Contracts and the Impact of Covid-19 - Change of Circumstances, Force Majeure, or What?”, in: Corporate, Transactions, Law in the Time of COVID-19, Katharina Pistor, ed., Columbia Law School (2020), available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3582482
Michael Douglas & John Eldridge, “Coronavirus and the Law of Obligations”, UNSW Law Journal Forum, No. 3, 2020, available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3657678
Contributions in Revista de derecho civil, Vol 7 No 2 (2020), available at https://www.nreg.es/ojs/index.php/RDC/issue/view/45/showToc (in Spanish)

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 06.05.2022 00:15